social criticism presentation handout

7/30/2019 Social Criticism Presentation Handout

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Elder, Social Criticism Page 1 of 6

Social Criticism

Nick Elder

The Iliff School of Theology

10.17.2011

Introductory Remarks for all non-Mediterraneans, including all Americans, reading the Bible is always

an exercise in cross-cultural communication. It is only a question in doing it

poorly or doing it well. (Richard L. Rohrbaugh, The Social Sciences and NewTestament Interpretation, 1)

Our reading of the New Testament is also a social act. For us, however, readingthe New Testament is a cross-cultural experience. (David Rhoads, SocialCriticism: Crossing Boundaries, 145)

Backgrounds to Social Criticism [Social-scientific criticism] emerged as a programmatic methodologicalenterprise in the 1970s. This effort as a self-conscious merger of exegesis and the

social sciences was not without notable predecessors who had seen the value ofthe social sciences for biblical interpretation (Elliott, 17)

o Troeltsch, Weber, etc. are in mind here Gerd Theissen: Wanderradikalismus: Literatursoziologische Aspekte der

berlieferung von Worten Jesu im Urchistentum (Itinerant Radicalism: TheTradition of Jesus Sayings from the Perspective of the Sociology of Literature)

o Reopens the door to social criticismo No longer can the radical (but domesticated) words of Jesus be divorced

from the material and social conditions of Jesus time

What is Social Criticism Social-Scientific Criticism of the Bible is that phase of the exegetical task which

analyzes the social and cultural dimensions of the text and its environmental

context through the utilization of the social sciences. (Elliott, What is Social-Scientific Criticism, 7)

Our concern is primarily to understand the NT by placing it more nearly in thesocial world out ofwhich it came. (Rohrbaugh, Social Sciences, 10)

The purpose for using cultural anthropological models in New Testament studyis precisely to hear the meaning of the documents in terms of social systems in

which they were originally proclaimed. (Bruce J. Malina, The New Testament

World: Insights from Cultural Anthropology, xi)

Presuppositions of Social Criticism (Elliott, 36-58)1.) All knowledge is socially conditioned and perspectival in nature (36-37)

a. Applies to both the interpreter and the author and groups underexamination

b. Total objectivity is illusory


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c. The social-scientific critic at the outset of an investigation considers heror his own personal and social location and its influence on the interests,presuppositions, preunderstandings, theories, methods, and goals of the

analysis (37)2.) This implies that the method of analysis must include means for distinguishing

and clarifying the differences between the social location of the interpreter and thesocial location of the authors and objects to be interpreted. (37-40)

a. Being respectful visitors to a foreign culture3.) Theories and models have always played an essential role (40-48)

a. Because theories and models dictate both materials to be examined and theprocess of interpretation it is imperative they are states at the outset of an

investigationb. Models are consciously structured to organize interpretation of raw

material

4.) Importance of abduction (over against deduction or induction) (48)a. Back and forth movement

5.)Social-scientific criticism insists on situating biblical texts within theirappropriate geographical, social, and cultural contexts. (49)

a. Encodements of the cultural values and scripts typical of the Circum-Mediterranean and Near Eastern culture regions summarized by

Mediterranean anthropologists

6.) Texts are meaningful social discourse in oral or written form (50-55)a. Contains social data we may not understand, implied relationship between

author and target reader, a specific textual mode of organizing discourse

7.) Social-scientific criticism presumes that this method is different from butcomplementary to a historical orientation (55)

8.) Study of religion in the bible and its environment requires a study of socialstructures and relations (57)

9.) The practitioner of Social Scientific Criticism may draw on the full range ofsocial-science theory, methods, and research. (58)

10.)Social Scientific Criticism is concerned not only with original meanings of thebiblical documents but also with the aggregations of meanings down through the

centuries (58)

Approaches to Social Criticism

Social Description/Investigation of Social Realia Social History Use of Social Theory/Models Sociology of Knowledgeo Marking Cultural Assumptions (and challenged assumptions) Identifying Social Location

o Of the Author/Hearero Of the Interpreter


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Models Models from cultural anthropology do not offer an alternative explanation of the

Bible, nor do they do away with literary critical, historical, and theological study.

Rather, they add a dimension not available from other approaches, along with a

way to check on the hunches of interpreters when it comes to questions of what

any given author said and meant to say. (Malina,New Testament World, xi) Modelsare abstract, simplified representations of more complex real-worldobjects and interactions. Like abstract thought, the purpose of models is to enableand facilitate understanding. (Malina,New Testament World, 18)

Models really cannot be proved right or wrong. After all, they are postulated;that is, they derive from a sort of insight that seems to hold experiences togetherin such a way as to make sense. Models can only be validated. (Malina, NewTestament World, 18)

Question for Discussion/Consideration

Many of the advocates of Social Criticism view it as an aid to the morehistorical-critical exegetical task, in what ways can it be used in themethods we have been discussing throughout the quarter?

Respectful Visitors A text from the first century is like a door, an opening through which to look into

another culture, a different world. (Rhoads, Social Criticism, 146) Code of Ethics for Travelers

o Travel in a spirit of humility and with a genuine desire to meet and talk with thelocal people.

o Be aware of the feelings of other people, thus preventing what might be offensivebehavior. Remember this especially with photography.

o Cultivate the habit of listening and observing, rather than merely hearing andseeing.

o Realize that people in the country you visit often have time concepts and thoughtpatterns different from your own. Not inferior, just different.

o Discover the enrichment that comes from seeing another way of life, rather thanlooking for the 'beach paradise' of the tourist posters.

o Acquaint yourself with the local customs. Respect local customs; people will behappy to help you.

o Cultivate the habit of asking questions instead of knowing all the answers.o Remember that you are one of thousands of visiting tourists. Do not expect special

privileges.

o If you really want a home away from home, why travel?o Spend wisely. Remember when shopping that the bargain you obtain is only

possible because of the low wages paid to the maker.

o Make no promises to local people unless you are certain you can fulfill them.o Reflect daily on your experiences; seek to deepen your understanding. "What

enriches you may rob or violate others."

o Choose to be surprised, not disappointed, when places and people do not matchyour expectations.


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Social Criticism thus far in the Gospel of Mark

Mark 1.16-45 Calling the Disciples, Coalitions/Factions 1.16-20 Fishing Mark 1.40, The Leper kneels to Jesus, Patron/Client Mark 2.8-9 Challenging Jesus, Honor/Shame 2.12-14 Tax-Collectors 2.18-20 Fasting 2.23-28 Purity/Pollution 3.20-30 Accusations against Jesus, Deviance Labeling that must be validated

by public opinion

Mark 4.10-20 Jesus obscures his teaching, In-group/Out-group Mark 4.26-29 Rich, Poor and Limited Good Mark 5.24b-24 Woman with the flow of blood, Purity/Pollution and

Healing/Health Care

Mark 6.30-44 The bread and fish, Meals, Money, and Patron/Client Mark 7.6-7 Old Testament quotation, Oral Poetry Mark 7.22 Envy, The Evil Eye Mark 8.27-30 Who do the others/you say that I am? Collectivist Personality Mark 9.2-10 The Transfiguration,Altered States of Consciousness Mark 9.30-37 Receiving like a Child, Children Mark 10.1-12 Teaching on Divorce, Wife/Daughter, Challenge-Riposte,

Betrothaland Divorce

Mark 10.17-31 The Rich Man, Rich, Poor and Limited Good Mark 10.46-52 Jesus heals a Blind Man, Healing/Health Care and

Patron/Client

Recurring Themes: Holy Man, Demon/Demon Possession, Gossip, Secrecy


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Practicing Social Criticism in the Gospel of Mark

Mark 12.13-17

-Challenge-Riposte

-Religion, Economics, and Politics

-Rich, Poor, and Limited Good

NA27Mark 12.13 .14 , , ; ; 15 ; . 16 .

; . 17 . .

NRSVMark 12.13 Then they sent to him some

Pharisees and some Herodians to trap him

in what he said. 14 And they came and saidto him, Teacher, we know that you are

sincere, and show deference to no one; for

you do not regard people with partiality,

but teach the way of God in accordance

with truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the

emperor, or not?

15 Should we pay them, or should we

not? But knowing their hypocrisy, he said

to them, Why are you putting me to the

test? Bring me a denarius and let me seeit. 16 And they brought one. Then he saidto them, Whose head is this, and whose

title? They answered, The emperors. 17

Jesus said to them, Give to the emperor

the things that are the emperors, and to

God the things that are Gods. And they

were utterly amazed at him.


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More Questions:

I know we have been jumping the gun on Postcolonial Criticism, but do thesesocial aspects make it easier or more difficult for a postcolonial

interpretation?

Does this text change when understanding these social elements? If so, how? Are you convinced that we are able to reconstruct social models and thenapply them to draw something out of the text?

Bibliography

Blasi, Anthony J., Jean Duhaime and Paul Andre Turcotte, eds. Handbook of EarlyChristianity: Social Science Approaches. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press,

2002.

Elliott, John H. What is Social-Scientific Criticism. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1993.

Horsley, Richard A. Sociology and the Jesus Movement. New York: The Continuum

Publishing Company, 1994.

Malina, Bruce J. The New Testament World: Insights from Cultural Anthropology.Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.

Malina, Bruce J. Windows on the World of Jesus: Time Travel to Ancient Judea.

Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993.

Malina, Bruce J. and Richard L. Rohrbaugh, eds. Social Science Commentary on the

Synoptic Gospels. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003.

Rhoads, David. Social Criticism: Crossing Boundaries Pages 145-180 inMark andMethod. Edited by Janice Capel Anderson and Stephen Moore. Minneapolis:

Fortress Press, 2008.

Rohrbaugh, Richard L., ed. The Social Sciences and New Testament Interpretation.

Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1996.

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